Friday Flashback: 1975

The Soyuz 19 and Apollo 18 are launched. They rendezvous 2 days later.





Do you know anything that happened on this day in the '70s?


"July 15 Events in History." Brainy History. 15 Jul 2005 <http://www.brainyhistory.com/days/july_15.html>.

Spam

Spam has now grown more complex and has even penetrated so deeply into our personal computer systems that they (referring to those scheming yet awesomely talented spammers) actually know a few personal stuff about us.

Take, for example, this spam message I got a few days ago. Yahoo! immediately filtered it out, but it's interesting to note that it is, by far, the most eye-catching spam I've ever received. It was an email from a certain Thaddeus Oliver with the subject, "FW: Receive all da pherma prods you naed to-day assumption." Interesting, no? Let me dissect this for you. Let's analyze it like we're in CW 10.

Thaddeus has a variant spelling with one "d." For you M.D. fans out there, Thadeus Ragan played Trent Lloyd, St. Joseph Medical Center's hot intern. Oliver may refer to many personalities. Jamie Oliver. Oliver Twist. Another angle would be the fact that Oliver is the male version of the name "Olivia," which would definitely refer to Olivia Ledesma...or Olivia Newton-John.

"Receive all da pherma..." da. Mr. Thaddeus Oliver must be Jamaican. Ah! A clever allusion to my being a reggae fan.

"...pherma prods..." prods. This is definitely a reference to Patty Rodriguez. I nicknamed Patty "P-Rod" in 1st year high school. I patterned it after New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez's "A-Rod" moniker. When Patty created yet another Yahoo! account, she dropped the dash, resulting in "prod."

"...you naed..." Okay. This part is just pathetic. "Naed" is not even a word, and don't try tricking me with the Greek "a" after "e" thing. It just reminds me of my little sister who used to spell "head" as "haed."

"...to-day assumption..." I don't understand the dash between the word "today." It sounds so Medieval nursery rhyme-ish. In closer analysis, this dash may be the dash that was missing in the word "prod." The author may be emphasizing a connection between these to words. Maybe Mr. Oliver wants me to call Patty up today. It's too late then because the "today" referred to in the mail is now a day gone by. Finally, the reference to my alma mater is clearly and explicitly stated in the email subject.

Now apparently, two days after that, I received another spam message, this time from Ray Youngblood. The subject was almost identical. "FW: Receive all the pherma prods you naed to-day aspartic." Hmm... "Ray" may refer to the Ray Charles biopic Ray. "Youngblood" probably refers to the Philippine Daily Inquirer section that I've been meaning to contribute to. I don't even know what "aspartic" means. Is that even a word? Hold on, let me check...Okay, according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, aspartic acid (in Biochemistry) is "an acidic amino acid present in many proteins and in sugar cane, important in the metabolism of nitrogen in animals and also acting as a neurotransmitter." Whatever that means. The only words that mean anything to me there are "sugar" and "cane." I remember gnawing on sugar canes in Bacolod.

That's spam according to me.

Moneypenny Monday: Albert II of Monaco

6 Degrees of James Bond

This week's chosen one is Prince Albert II of Monaco, who will be officially invested tomorrow as Monaco's new ruler. A few days ago, he confirmed through his lawyer that the son of Togolese stewardess Nicole Coste is in fact his son. You can all read about that somewhere else.

1. Prince Albert was an extra in the film One Man's Hero. The movie starred Tom Berenger.
2. Berenger played a sergeant in Oliver Stone's Platoon. The movie also featured young Johnny Depp as a private.
3. Depp starred opposite Antonio Banderas in Once Upon a Time in Mexico.
   
4. Banderas lent his voice as Puss In Boots in Shrek 2. The title character was voiced by Mike Myers.
5. Myers played Austin Powers in the Austin Powers movies. Michael Caine played his father in Austin Powers in Goldmember.
6. Caine aka Sir Maurice Micklewhite starred opposite Sir Roger Moore in the comedy Bullseye!

Friday Flashback: 1978

On this day in the 1970's


At the 92nd Wimbledon Tennis Championships, Bjorn Borg beat Jimmy Connors (6-2, 6-2, 6-3).


Do you know anything that happened on this day in the '70s?



"July 8 Events in History." Briany History. 8 Jul 2005 .

The July Common Cold

Titles edited May 27, 2009

I have a cold right now. You know…the colds that come with phlegm. I hate it. I'd accept it if it made my voice temporarily raspy, allowing me to sing in a beautiful, husky tone, but it doesn't. I am so annoyed right now because I don't fully understand my Math lesson in modular arithmetic because I had to blow my nose all the way through the last Math session. I used up a roll of tissue paper, making those icky, nose-blowing sounds that have probably grossed out my seatmates forever. And you know what's funny? This happens every year! It always comes during school opening season! And you know what's even funnier? My sickness reaches its peak during Math class! Unbelievable! I was thinking this through on a jeepney ride home, and I have concluded that the main reason for this sickness is the season. It just rained non-stop yesterday. I probably encountered every kind of mud and rain puddle yesterday, rushing to catch my next class a la UP Mountaineers. I used to think that the reason why I would get sick every start of the school year was because of Makati pollution. I thought that after 2 months of fresh-aired summer in QC, I'd get bombarded with all sorts of urban diseases in Makati (no offense, folks), resulting in my sickness. If that were true, however, why then would I be sick again now that I'm in UP? This has led me to conclude that the only common factor between both scenarios is that they both occur during the rainy season. The common Math class factor only heightens the sickness because both my AC Math classroom and my UP Math classroom are air-conditioned. In conclusion, I will bring a sweater tomorrow.

Moneypenny Monday: Clive Owen

6 Degrees of James Bond

This week's chosen one is Clive Owen. He also happens to be one of the rumored Bond candidates. He actually reminds me of George Lazenby.

1. Clive starred in last year's Closer with Julia Roberts.
2. Roberts starred opposite Albert Finney in Erin Brockovich.
3. Finney played old Ewan McGregor in Big Fish, which also starred Helena Bonham Carter.
4. Bonham Carter starred in Howards End with Anthony Hopkins.
5. Hopkins played Catherine Zeta-Jones's real father in The Mask of Zorro.
6. Catherine Zeta-Jones starred opposite Sean Connery in 1999's Entrapment.
   

Monkey Man!

I was riding an Ikot jeep last week on my way to the Main Lib. The jeep passed through C.P. Garcia, the road that goes straight to Katipunan. Suddenly, the driver stopped the jeep in front of a sari-sari store along the road. He ordered Sarsi from the tindera. Feeling drive-thru. Now, I didn't really notice the whole thing because I thought that he stopped because this peculiar-looking man was blocking the way on the road.

It was Monkey Man.

Monkey Man, as I have dubbed him based on a character in Hey Arnold!, was a poor, skinny fellow dressed as a superhero. Out of scrap pieces of cloth, our modern-day urban warrior fashioned a pathetically respectable superhero costume. He cut out eyeholes on a piece of cloth and wore this as his headgear. He took a dirty, starched, green cloth and used it as a cape. He also wore the signature superhero grin on his face. If I remember correctly, I think he even had gloves.

At first, I was terrified. Upon sight of him, I secretly clutched my Bronco self-defense spray in my bag. You never know. He's mental for crying out loud! He was throwing punches at the electric post! How was I sure he wasn't going to suddenly grab me from the jeepney window, thinking I was the reincarnation of his arch-nemesis, Dr. Doom?

Although I was scared at that moment, I now look back at that incident with laughter and fondness. I don't know if he's really harmless, but he was a sight to behold. Apparently, Monkey Man is a common sighting for Ateneans who take that route. They've already dubbed him as "Batman." I don't know about you, but I refuse to call him "Batman." Bruce Wayne was the sole heir to the Wayne family fortune, allowing him access to the finest and most hi-tech gadgets around. Hey Arnold!'s Monkey Man, however, had nothing but his undying passion to fight crime and banish evil from the city streets...and a verbal twitch.

So, if you happen to pass through C.P. Garcia and see a strange bozo walking around in a homemade costume, you now know that it's not a bird. It's not a plane. It's Monkey Man.

Friday Flashback: 1973

On this day in the 1970's






Jesus Christ Superstar ended its run in New York City after 720 Broadway performances.



Do you know anything that happened on this day in the '70s?


"On-This-Day.com - July 01." The History of Today. 1 Jul 2005 .